Year-ender lists are the flavour of the season but hardly would anyone envy the person keeping track of the number of celebrity deaths in the year. 2011 has been a year when some of India's best names from different walks of life bid adieu. But to borrow English novelist Sir Terence David John ‘Terry' Pratchett's line, “Do you know that a man is not dead till his name is still spoken?” we can be certain that they live in our memories.
June 9, 2011: M. F. Husain
The internationally-recognised artist and one of India's foremost modern painters, who refused to wear footwear, died at 97 having spent five years in exile. After suffering a mild heart attack in Dubai, he had recovered but was admitted to a London hospital where he breathed his last. Husain, widely criticised in India for his depiction of Hindu deities, was embroiled in several legal cases and was forced to live outside India, in Dubai and London. He was offered citizenship by the state of Qatar which he accepted fearing arrest if he returned to India. The man always said his heart belonged to his home country. The prodigal son never got a chance to come back.
August 14: Shammi Kapoor
Veteran actor Shamsher Raj Kapoor (80), fondly known as Shammi Kapoor, succumbed to renal failure after being in a Mumbai hospital for a month. The light-eyed, tall and fair Punjabi lad was very stylish and an instant hit with the women through the 1950s and 1970s. The Kapoor scion had many hits under his belt — “Tumsa Nahi Dekha,” “Dil Deke Dekho,” “Junglee,” “Professor,” “Kashmir Ki Kali” and “Brahmachari.” His ‘Yahoo' call and fancy dancing moves enthralled an entire generation and inspired many me-toos. An active netizen, Shammi made news even in his twilight years, when he tweeted! His final performance in Imtiaz Ali's “Rockstar” was a cameo as a shehnai maestro, playing mentor to his grandnephew Ranbir Kapoor.
September 13: Gautam Rajadhyaksha
Ace lensman Gautam Rajadhyaksha was only 60 and suffering from no ailment when he passed away at his Mumbai home. Celebrity portraits were his forte and not a single leading film industry icon of our times had escaped Gautam's lens. His was a glamorous life, but his simple manner and soft-spoken nature never failed to surprise a first-time observer. He was a writer as well and had scripted a few films, including Kajol's debut “Bekhudi” and Madhuri's “Anjaam”. The man reportedly died with the camera in his hands, just as he had wanted to.
October 10: Jagjit Singh
Ghazal samrat Jagjit Singh passed away in a Mumbai hospital at the age of 70, following a brain haemorrhage. He was admitted to hospital just hours before his Mumbai concert on September 23. The Padma Bhushan awardee was known to bring ghazals to the masses though sometimes criticised for not adhering to the traditional form. He brought to Hindi film music too some of its most loved ghazals — ‘Jhuki jhuki si nazar,' ‘Tum itna jo muskura rahi ho,' ‘Tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya,' ‘Yeh tera ghar yeh mera ghar,' ‘Chitthi na koi sandesh' and ‘Hoshwalon ko khabar kya'. Along with wife Chitra Singh, the man rocked even at international concerts.
November 5: Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika died of multiple organ failure in a Mumbai hospital at the age of 85. The Assamese singer-composer-director was single-handedly credited with putting North East India on the map of Indian cinema. He was known for making documentaries as well as Assamese feature films. His love for Assamese folk songs urged the Padma Shri awardee to popularise it in the Hindi film industry too which he did through films such as “Saaz” (featuring Shabana Azmi and Ustab Zakir Hussain), “Gaja Gamini” (M F Husain's debut directorial venture), and “Darmiyaan” (Kalpana Lajmi's film). His rendition of ‘Dil Hoom Hoom Kare' from the film “Lekin” is fondly remembered.
September 22: Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
Nawab of Pataudi or Tiger Pataudi, as Mansoor Ali Khan was better known, was suffering from interstitial lung disease and succumbed to it in a Delhi hospital on September 23 at the age of 70. He overcame an eye impairment to become India's pioneering captain (at 21, then the youngest) of the Test team. With his multi-spinner attack, the country won nine Tests during his tenure and began to believe in itself and in winning. None of his children joined sports; with two of them (Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan) following in their mother, actor Sharmila Tagore's footsteps.
December 4: Dev Anand
Actor, director and producer Dev Anand, better known as the ‘evergreen actor', passed away at the age of 88, working till the last minute reportedly. The man, who had scores of hits to his credit, including “CID,” “Taxi Driver,” “Jewel Thief,” “Guide” and “Hare Rama Hare Krishna,” to name a handful, gave Bollywood a fresh style. His characteristic nodding of the head and quick dialogue delivery were a craze. He was very proud of Zeenat Aman and Tina Munim, whom he introduced to the industry. The man had an irrepressible spirit that kept him going in spite of his last films doing very poorly at the box office.
December 11: Mario Miranda
Mario Miranda loved Goa and passed away peacefully at his Goan home at the age of 85. The noted cartoonist brought to life Goan culture though his sketches of villages, pubs, fish markets and even offices. His iconic Miss Fonseca and Miss Nimbu Paani are vividly etched in memory. Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri Mario had travelled the globe and met and worked with international cartoonists such as Charles Schultz. He has several books to his name and has also created many murals in Goa.
December 25: Satyadev Dubey
Indian theatre suffered a blow in the final week of 2011 as eminent theatre personality Satyadev Dubey passed away in Mumbai after being in a coma since September. The 75-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh will always be remembered as the one who gave a fresh impetus to not just theatre but also films. He was never bound by language (he wrote, directed and produced plays in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Bengali), nor could any medium restrict him. He is credited with plays such as Andha Yug, Bandh Darwaze and Yayati, while also being noted for his powerful screenplay and dialogues for Shyam Benegal films such as “Bhumika,” “Junoon” and “Aakrosh.” He was a mentor to several theatre enthusiasts. Dubey was awarded the Padma Bhushan this year. He also has to his name the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the National Award for Best Screenplay for “Bhumika.”
